“GE Garage is a pop-up lab that provides really neat hands-on experience with manufacturing technologies that most of us don’t have access to”

“Have you ever looked at your cell phone case and wondered how it was made? There’s a good chance it was made from a 3D printer… The same kind of machine that can “print” a jet engine thanks to advanced manufacturing. For the next two weeks, GE is coming to town to show the District how these types of advanced manufacturing machines work. And we’d like to show you before the rest of the public gets to see it… You’ll get to engrave your iPhone or iPad and print your own phone case, if you want! There will be a lot of fun things to photograph.

Part of a global tour, each Garage is a pop-up lab that provides really neat hands-on experience with manufacturing technologies that most of us don’t have access to (e.g., laser cutters, 3D printers, injection molders, etc.). Throughout the next two weeks, Garages will be open to the public, so people can walk through the space and actually use these machines that are revolutionizing the country’s manufacturing processes.

The general public will be invited to visit the space and interact with the technologies starting Friday the 21st and running through April 9, 2014. Visitors will be able to engage in on-site activities, ranging from building a case for their smartphone using GE’s 3D printers to attending 101 workshops held in the space. ”

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Awesome! There is actually a small project that’s been circulating in the back of my head that would be 267% simpler with access to a laser cutter or CNC mill. If they will let us design small projects for FREE and prototype them I’m all over that.

My girlfriend belongs to DC Hackerspace that is in the St Stephen church off 16th/Newton. You can go whenever someone else is there, but she pays a monthly fee to have a key. They have a laser cutter, 3D printer, mill, wood working tools, computer stuff. Just a cool space to work on little projects. http://www.hacdc.org/

Very cool. And nice to remember that even after this pop-up ends 3-D printing and scanning is available at Digital Commons at the MLK Library downtown! Hopefully they’ll also add laser-cutting eventually…